Haruno, Listen!
by Ketsueki Gesshoku
Summary: We are always surrounded by a piece of nature. Trees, flowers, rocks, fire, water - nature is always there, no matter how small. They witness everything that occurs around them, and can live for centuries before finally taking their final breath. So what happens when Sakura Haruno can hear their voices? What happens when no secret, whether from the past or present, is safe from her
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Hearing Them**

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><p><em><strong>AN: I apologize for spelling and grammatical errors.**_

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><p>Sakura rubbed at her eyes, wiping away the last of her tears as she sniffled slightly. She was scared and confused, but mostly scared. Why did those kids say mean things to her? Why did they tease her? What did she ever do to them? She had just asked to play! They didn't have to be big meanies and pick on her! Frowning, the little girl looked into a small stream and caught her reflection. A girl with wide, red-rimmed emerald eyes looked back at her...<p>

_"Ew! Look at your eyes! They're the color of puke!"_

She had short pink hair-

"Pink_ hair? Who has pink hair? Freak!"_

-with bangs that covered her forehead.

"_Look at that forehead! It's huge!"_

She was dressed in a black sweater and light tan colored capri pants with dark brown sandals.

"_Hey! Where you going Billboard brow?! Didn't you say you wanted to play?"_

However, because she ran into her forest, each sleeve of her sweater now had three rips on the biceps. Her pants were dirty from tripping, and a small cut was on her ankle. She frowned, her mother was going to get mad! She had told her to be careful and to not get dirty before she ran off to play with other kids! Now it was ruined...and her mom was going to yell at her...and her father is going to shake his head...and...and...and...

Sakura began to cry again. She raised her hands, furiously wiping them away, but more only took their places. Eventually, she just gave up and fell to her knees, crying loudly. She was sobbing so loud that she almost didn't hear someone speak to her.

"_Hey! Hey! Don't cry!_"

Curiosity easily replaced Sakura's need to cry at the sound of the voice. Slowly, while she rubbed at her eyes, she turned around. There was no one. Her brow furrowed, was she imagining things? Maybe she didn't actually hear a voice? She pouted. No, she was sure she heard someone! She just couldn't see them!

"H-Hello?" she called out, a bit hesistant.

"_See, see! I told you she would stop crying!_"

Sakura frowned, turning her head from side to side. She could hear the person, but why couldn't she see him?

"_She stopped? ...how interesting._"

Another new person! He sounded old. Older than her father. Like her grandpa!

"W-Who's there?!" she said aloud, getting onto her feet.

"_Is she speaking to us?_"

A third person! This one a woman... She sounded like her mother, but younger.

"_Impossible,_" the person that sounded like Sakura's grandfather said, "_She can't hear us._"

Sakura felt her cheeks turn red with embarrassment and anger. "I so _can_ hear you, Oji-san!"

"_Ha! I was right! She can hear us, she can hear us!"_ the first voice, the one that sounded like a little boy, declared happily. "_She's the one! She's the one we've been waiting for!_"

"_Nonsense!" _Oji-san shouted, "_No one has ever heard us speak!_"

"_Now, now, remember of the Haruno family? They once had the ability to do so_," the woman said softly.

A look of confusion appeared on Sakura's face. Did these people know of her family? Were they friends of Okaa-san? Otou-san?

"_Hmm... Little girl,_" Oji-san said, "_What is your name?"_

Sakura bit down on her lower lip, afraid to answer. She didn't even know who she was talking to, and her father told her to never talk to strangers!

"_Answer, girl!_"

Sakura's lower lip began to tremble and her eyes began to glow with fresh unshed tears.

"_Stop that! You're scaring the poor child!_" the woman chided. Sakura could hear Oji-san grumble something, but her attention was on the woman as she spoke with a smile in her voice. "_I'm sorry, child. He's just a little grumpy...but can you please tell us your name?"_

"M-My father t-told me to n-not talk to s-strangers..." Sakura squeaked out, gaze dropping down to the ground.

"_You're talking to us now, aren't you, brat? So what difference will it make if you tell us your name?_"

Sakura's eyes snapped upward, glowing with anger as she glared viciously at the tree in front of her. No, she did not know where the old man was. His voice, like the nice lady and boy, seemed to be everywhere, but she had to glare at _something_. It was just unfortunate for the tree to be right in front of her.

"Oji-san, you're a big _boo-boo head_!"

A stunned silence filled the air.

"What?"

Sakura watched in amazement when the leaves of the tall tree before her rustled. There was no wind blowing, and none of the other trees moved... She tilted her head to the side, weird. Then, she felt a small splash of water at the back of her ankles. Turning around, she eyed the stream that seemed to be sparkling now, despite there being no sun.

_"She called you a boo-boo head!_" the boy laughed.

"_Quiet, you little brat_!"

A soft breeze suddenly appeared, rustling Sakura's hair. It felt warm and soothing, making the pink haired child close her eyes and smile.

"_Don't worry, child, we're not here to hurt you,_" the woman began speaking.

"_Speak for yourself_," the old man muttered.

_"So, please, tell us your name._"

"O-OK," Sakura stuttered out, deciding that she liked the nice lady. "I-I'm Sakura H-Haruno."

"_Ha, old man! I was right! I was right! In your face!_"

Sakura opened her eyes when she felt her feet get wet. She tilted her head. Why was she getting wet? She wasn't even touching the water. Curiously, she crouched down and reached her hand out to skim her fingers on the stream's surface. She was surprised when the boy suddenly let out a laugh.

"_Hey! That tickles!_"

"Ah! Sorry!" Sakura shouted, pulling her hand away from the water.

She heard the old man huff. "_Hasn't anyone taught you manners, Haruno?_"

"I-I said I was s-sorry!" she defended, standing up. She whirled around to face the tree again. "A-And besides! It's rude t-that you're all not s-showing your faces!"

"_Who's doing what now?_" Sakura watched as the tree's leaves began to rustle again. "_Stupid brat! We've been in front of you all along! It's not my fault you're not smart enough to figure it out_!"

"W-What?" Sakura's eyes went wide, while her mouth fell open into an 'o'. "B-But you're a tree!"

"_And I'm a stream of water!_" the little boy declared cheerfully from behind her.

"_Sakura-chan_," the woman spoke, and once again, little Sakura felt a breeze wrap around her. She even giggled as it tickled her skin. "_You're a very special child with an amazing gift, and because of this gift, you can talk to us when others cannot._"

It took a few moments for Sakura to register the breeze's words, and once she did, a wide grin broke across her face. "That's so cool! So I can talk to trees and stuff!"

"_Yes..._" the wind whipped around her, stronger, making her spin a little to face a few flowers several feet away. "_Trees, water, wind, flowers...you can talk to the earth, Sakura-chan. You can hear nature's voices_."

Sakura nodded as she directed her grin at the flowers. "Hi yellow flower-san! White flower-san!"

No reply.

She pouted a little, "How come they're not talking to me!"

Water sprinkled against her skin as the boy laughed. "_Not yet, Sakura-chan! Not yet! You're not strong enough yet!_"

She turned her head toward the stream, cocking her head to the side. "Not...strong enough?"

"_What the little water brat means, girl_," she turned her head toward the old man-tree, "_You're still very young. You haven't unlocked your gift...not yet._"

Sakura pursed her lips. "What do you mean Oji-san?"

The leaves rustled again, but lightly this time. "_When you unlock your gift, you'll hear everything..._" The leaves stopped rustling. "_But be careful, Sakura-hime. You must learn to control it and your mind. If you cannot, then you will go mad_."

"Go mad?" Sakura questioned, "Why would I get mad?"

"_Such a young child..._"

"_Enough of this_," the wind began to blow, and Sakura swore she could feel fingers running through her hair. "_Why were you crying, Sakura-chan?_"

The change of topic made Sakura frown, her eyes dropping to her feet as she kicked at the ground. The tree's words completely forgotten.

"Well, at the park, there were these meanies-"

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><p><em>Later on in the day, when the sun began to set, I returned to the park. Both my mother and father were there, shouting my name as they looked for me. The second they saw me, they ran over, my father scooping me up in his arms to hug me tightly. My mother was crying, her hands patting all over my body asking if I was OK. It took several minutes until they finally calmed down, and then began to scold me for disappearing into the forest. I didn't care though. I was too happy. I had finally made friends!<em>

_ "There's Mizu-kun, a small stream... Moku-oji-san, he's a really big tree! Oh, and Kaze-san, a breeze!"_

_ The stream, tree, and breeze didn't have names. They told me they had no need for such titles, because they are all parts of the earth, so why change their true names? So, I called them what they are - water, wood, and wind. My parents laughed, thinking that they were my new imaginary friends. It was a typical thing for a four year old._

_ As time passed, I continued to visit my first three friends. Nevermind that they were just a stream, a tree, and a breeze. Except, Kaze-san disappeared one day._

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><p>"Moku-oji-san, Mizu-kun, where's Kaze-san?" a five year old Sakura questioned, turning around. She expected air to suddenly whirl around her like it has for the past three months when she came. When it didn't happen though, she became worried.<p>

"_Kaze-san isn't here anymore, Sakura-chan!_" Mizu-kun shouted. Sakura walked over to the small stream and crouched down. Instantly, water showered her feet in greeting, and she couldn't help, but smile a little. "_She had to leave!_"

Her smile disappeared, replaced by a frown.

"How come she had to leave?"

"_It's in her nature, Sakura-hime_."

Sakura looked over her shoulder, back at the tall tree directly behind her. After realizing that Sakura was truly a Haruno, and with the "special gift," as they put it, the tree took calling her 'princess.' Little Sakura asked why he called her that a few weeks back, and his only answer was that she was the "true Haruno heir," which didn't make any sense to her. How could she be air? She was obviously a little girl.

"What do you mean, Oji-san?" she questioned softly, eyes wide.

"_Kaze-san is wind, correct?_"

She blinked. "Yes."

"_And there's always wind blowing throughout the lands, right?_"

Another blink. "Yes?"

"_Sakura-chan! Kaze-san went traveling!_" Mizu-kun shouted impatiently. "_She always comes and goes!_"

"Really?" Sakura's brow furrowed. She didn't really understand what they were talking about, but she at least got the point: Kaze-san was gone. "Will she come back?"

"_One day,_" Moku-oji-san answered, "_But that may be for a long time, Sakura-hime._"

Sakura frowned at the possibility that she wouldn't see - well, hear - Kaze-san for a while, but her attention was quickly redirected by Mizu-kun.

"_Come on, Sakura-chan! Let's play!_"

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><p><em>More time passed, and I soon began to hear more than just Moku-oji-san and Mizu-kun's voices. Different trees, winds, and sources of water. They were never the same, and they were always saying something. Early in the morning, late into the night - there was rarely a moment of peace, and I began to loose sleep. I had a headache on a daily basis, and it only got worse.<em>

_ Near my sixth birthday, I didn't just hear trees, water, and winds... I began to hear the voices of fires from cooking stoves, or rocks around the road. They were everywhere and constantly whispering into my ears. My parents began to worry when I was losing sleep, and, in their eyes, was always speaking to my imaginary friends. They took me to the hospital, but none of the doctors could help me. They couldn't find anything wrong with me, and whenever I would tell them that "it's the trees" or "close the windows! The wind keeps talking!", they thought I was insane. I ended up as a mental case and was admitted to the hospital for an indefinite amount of time._

_ The only one that could help me was Moku-oji-san._

_ I didn't know this at the time, but Moku-oji-san was really old. More than a few centuries. He commented once that he spoke to one of the last people from my family who had the gift. I didn't think much of it back then, but when I was seven, and I had managed to escape the hospital, I ran to Moku-oji-san. I was vaguely aware that the little stream I knew as "Mizu-kun" wasn't there anymore (I would later find out from Moku-oji-san that he had dried up during the summer, while I was in the hospital). I was too busy crying and begging Moku-oji san to help me._

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><p>"The voices won't stop, Moku!" It was the first time I didn't use a title with his name, but I didn't care. The shouts and whispers wouldn't stop! "Please help me! I don't know what to do! I don't know what to do!"<p>

"_Sakura-hime..._" his voice sounded sad and tired, "_I will help you. First, close your eyes._"

She closed her eyes.

"_Picture walls. A lot of them._"

"W-Walls?" she stuttered out, swallowing dryly, but did as she was told. In her mind, where it was dark and filled with jumbles of words, dark grey walls shot up. They were tall, disappearing up into the darkness of her mind. The voices became quiet, soft.

"_Now, create something...something or someone that will hold up these walls._"

"Something or someone...?" Sakura questioned, who had finally stopped crying.

"_You are still very young, Sakura-hime. You will not be able to protect yourself alone. This is how your ancestors protected themselves from going mad._"

Sakura nodded, and because she was in a hurry and didn't really know what to think of, she imagined herself. Another Sakura who was black and white with the kanji for "Inner Sakura" marked on her forehead.

"_Cha!_" Inner Sakura shouted with a wide grin, "_Don't worry! I'll protect us_!"

Sakura sighed when it became quiet. She could still hear the voices, but they were muffled whispers now, and if she concentrated hard enough, everything would become silent.

"Moku-oji-san! It worked! It worked!" Sakura shouted, running up to the tall tree.

She didn't get a respond.

"Moku-oji-san?" Sakura frowned, brow furrowing. Then, her eyes went wide. She blocked - what did Kaze-san called it? - Nature's voices! Does that include Moku-oji-san's voice! Panicking, she placed a small hand on the tree's bark. She concentrated on its rough wood, ears straining. "Moku-oji-san?"

"..._I'm here, Sakura-hime_"

She sighed, relieved. "I was worried I blocked Moku-oji-san's voice too!"

"_You did, hime, but that's OK, you can hear me now..._" he said quietly, "_With your shield up, you must concentrate to hear the voices of Nature. However, there may be times when some will break through the shield...and that is because they are shouting... Listen to them hime, because they will be warning you_."

Sakura frowned at how tired the tree sounded in her mind, "Moku-oji-san, are you alright?"

"_I am, hime... Winter is coming, however...and I will be asleep for a while..._"

"Oh...Ok..." she said softly and turned her head. Her brow furrowed. "Where did Mizu-kun go?"

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><p><em>Not too long after creating my "shield," I was released from the hospital. I stopped talking to my "imaginary friends," and was able to rest without waking up to whispering. My parents were relieved, but that did not last long. I soon decided that I wanted to become a kunoichi and entered the Shinobi Academy. After Moku-oji-san had taught how to control my voices, I asked him about the people he knew that had my gift.<em>

_ He told me tales of all the ones that he knew, and they all beared my family name. He told me how they were strong and used the gift to listen to Nature's voices to their advantages. Some were good, and used the gift to protect themselves and others. Some were bad, using the gift to learn secrets that they could use against others. A few were civilians, but most were shinobi and kunoichi._

_ "_Listen to me, Sakura-hime_," Moku-oji-san had said, "_This gift granted on your family is also known as a kekkai genkai_."_

_ "Like the sharingan?" I had asked, thinking about the Uchiha boy in class._

_ "_Yes, but it cannot be used as a weapon like the Sharingan_." _There was a smile in his voice, "Like the Kekkai genkai of the Yamanaka Clan_-"_

_ Sakura thought of her best friend. The girl with long blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. Ino Yamanaka._

_ "-_your kekkai genkai can gather information, but it is much stronger. Any information gathered is unlimited and never false. We, the voices of Nature, will tell you anything of anyone, whether from the past or now. We are a source of unlimited information for you to use. You just have to listen_."_

_ Once I understood what Moku meant, I began to learn from Nature. They told me of jutsu that they had witnessed being used; effective methods to train; the correct way to hold and throw a kunai or shurriken; different ways of taijutsu - they told and taught me anything I desired. Soon, I became one of the top students in my class. RIght next to Sasuke Uchiha._

_ They also told me of things that I did not ask for, which eventually put me in an odd situation..._

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><p>"Sakura-chan," Sakura's mother crouched down to her height and placed a hand on her head. "How did you know the Sasaki-san's are splitting up? I didn't tell you anything."<p>

An eight year old Sakura smiled widely, "Iwa-san in front of Sasaki-san's porch told me!" The rounded rock in the front of her neighor's house came to mind. That thing always had stories to tell little Sakura, and a lot of them were funny to hear.

Her mother frowned. "And when you found out that Yuki-chan down the road was going to runaway?"

"Mizu-san in Yuki's backyard said so," she answered, referring to the large fountain in the older boy's backyard.

"When the Watanabe's house was on fire in the middle of the night?"

"Kaze-kun told me." A strong wind blew on that night.

"Who broke into the Takashi's house last week?"

"Ao-hana-sans told me." The blue flower bed in the Takashi's front yard.

"That Suki-chan was pregnant?"

"Akai-hana-san in Suki-onee-san's room." The red flower on Suki's bedroom windowsill.

"Enough with those lies!"

Both Sakura and her mother turned around to see Sakura's father standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He was glaring at his daughter, his eyes never leaving her small form as he walked into the living and sat on the couch.

"The rock told you? The water? Wind? The flowers?" his eyes narrowed, "What kind of gibberish are you speaking?"

"Honey!" Sakura's mother shouted, standing up to glare at her husband. "Don't talk to Sakura like that!"

"Do you know what the village is saying about her?!" he shouted, pointing a finger at the little girl, "That she's a demon child! There's a rumor that she's being influenced by the Kyuubi!"

"W-W-_What_?" her mother looked horrified, "That's nonsense!"

Sakura frowned. Who's the Kyuubi?

"Well, what are they supposed to think when our child knows things she shouldn't?" her father hissed, eyes burning with fury. "Business is going down because of these rumors!"

Sakura's mother looked at him in disgust. "Is this why you're so mad? Because of your business?"

"No, I'm mad, because _something is wrong with our daughter_!" Sakura's father roared, getting up onto his feet. That's when Sakura noticed the beer bottle held tightly in his left hand, and so did her mother.

"Love, you're not thinking straight..." she whispered, a bit afraid. "You're drunk-"

"Shut up! You're thinking it too!" he accused, his eyes darting between his wife and daughter. Then, abruptly, the burning anger in his gaze extinguished as his shoulders slumped. He fell back onto the sofa, head dropping back, and when he spoke, his voice was all, but a whisper that filled the tense air. "What are we to do? ...our daughter is a demon."

"Our daughter is not a demon!" her mother screamed, "She's not! She's not...she's not..." Sakura watched as she dropped to her knees and began to cry into her hands.

"O-Okaa-san?" Sakura muttered under her breath as she approached the older woman, reaching out. The moment her fingers touched bright red hair, however, an arm lashed out, and the little girl found herself on the floor. Her mother was still crying, but this time, instead of words of denial, it was broken words of acceptance and desperate hope.

"Oh Kami...did I...did I give birth to a monster? ...Please don't be so...let my daughter be normal...let her be normal..."

Sakura felt her heart drop into her stomach, and without a word, got up and ran out of her house.

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><p><em>On that night, I didn't return home. Instead, I stayed within the forest at a park, surrounded by nature. It was comforting, knowing that I was not truly alone, but I wasn't listening to any of their voices. I didn't want to speak or hear anything. I just wanted silence, and that's what I got...until the sun disappeared, and a full moon had risen.<em>

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><p>"<em>Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!<em>"

Sakura groaned in her sleep, rolling onto her side where she laid on the forest ground, right under a tree (Moku-oji-san).

"_Hurry! Wake up!_"

"_Stop him! Stop him!_"

"_It was wrong! They shouldn't had made him-!_"

"_WAKE UP!_"

Emerald eyes snapped wide open when a surge of wind slammed into Sakura. It made her head scratch into the bark of her tree-shelter, and caused her to gasp for air. Fortunately, the wind didn't last long, and disappeared within a second.

"W-What?" Sakura mumbled, slowly getting up onto her feet. She rubbed her eyes. Dirt had gotten into them. "What was that for, Kaze-san..?" she questioned, sleepily.

"_Hurry! Hurry! He's-_"

"_Near here! Toward the front gate!_"

_"He knocked out the guards!_"

"_Stop him!_"

"_Speak to him!_"

"_He's not alone!_"

"_Horrible people!_"

"_They made him!_"

"_SAVE HIM!_"

"_GO!_"

The trees around Sakura began to rustle loudly, and the wind began to blow, pushing her into a certain direction.

"_Sakura-hime..._"

"Moku-oji-san?" Sakura questioned as she took a few stumbling steps forward, "What's going on?" She tried to focus on his voice and block out the others, but found it was difficult. More difficult than it should be.

"_Remember, what I said, Sakura-hime? We only break through your shield when there is danger..."_

Those words snapped her awake. Fully alert now, Sakura's head darted from left to right, trying to resist the wind that was pushing her. "T-Then what do I do, Moku-oji-san?!" she shouted, confused and scared. She was only eight years old.

"_Listen_."

Sakura took a deep breath, and for the first time since her shield was made, dropped it. In her mind, she could see Inner Sakura grinning widely with her arms spread out as whispers and shouts began to fill her head.

"_Straight!_"

"_At the gates!_"

"_No guards-_"

"_-unconscious-_"

"_-we'll lead you-_"

"-_trees_-"

"_-trust us!_"

"_**HURRY!**_"

She jumped into the trees, and then shot forward. Sakura had never done this before - traveling through the trees, jumping from one branch to the next. The teachers at the Acadamy said they would learn it when they were older, when their legs were a bit longer. It wasn't impossible to learn it now, but it was more difficult; more dangerous. If you didn't correctly calculate the length from one branch to the next, if you jumped too far, didn't jump far enough, didn't jump _off_ correctly, or even landed correctly - any of it could result in serious injuries, or worse, death. Sakura had taken the warning to heart, and decided to wait until they would learn. When there was a teacher underneath her, ready to catch her in case she fell.

At the moment, however, Sakura didn't need to worry about falling.

The trees and wind helped her. There was more to her gift than what Moku had told her.

Whenever she didn't jump the right length; whenever she landed wrong; whenever she jumped off wrong - the trees' branches would bend to ensure she always had a branch to land on, that she landed perfectly, and leaped off just as good. The wind would blow harder, from behind or in front, so that her jumps would lengthen or shorten accordingly. She didn't have to watch her footing, she didn't have to worry, and soon, in a matter of minutes, she was outside of the village. Soon, she saw someone in sight, ahead of her. Soon, she caught up, and when he finally stopped, so did she.

Out of breath, panting heavily, she leaned against a tree for support. She was exhausted. Black dots began to appear in her vision, and her head was spinning. The voices were becoming blurred, softening, disappearing, but there was one she could hear clearly. A voice of a wind that was heavy with the scent of copper. Sakura scrunched her nose slightly at the smell.

"_Tell him, you know, hime._" The wind's voice was deep, a man, but still young. A teenage boy, perhaps? "_Tell him that he is not to blame. That you will help him. That you will watch over his younger brother. Tell him...to not give up hope_."

Forcing herself to move, Sakura stood up straight. Her breathing slowed, but still came out as soft pants, and she stared at the boy in front of her once he turned around. He was older than her, a teenager. He had long, jet black hair that was pulled into a ponytail at the base of his head with bangs framing his face. His eyes - Sakura flinched - were blood red with three black tomoes. Beneath them were long tear ducts, and it only pronounced his tired state. His clothes... Sakura swallowed dryly, his clothes were soaked with blood, some of it staining the skin on his arms and a bit of his face. Was this the coppery scent she smelt in the wind?

"Who are you?" the boy asked, his voice strained. He eyed her cautiously and took in her slightly battered appearance. Her short pink hair was a mess. Clothes were wrinkled, covered in dirt and tears. She also had a light cut on her left cheek, but it seemed to go unnoticed by her as she gave him a small tired smile. He was taken back by this.

"Sakura...Sakura Haruno," she said softly. The boy would have not heard her had a soft breeze not carried her words to his ears. "And you...?"

He did not give an answer...

...but the wind did.

"_Itachi Uchiha_."

"_Hurry! They're coming!_"

"_Not enough time!_"

"Itachi...Uchiha..." she tested the name on her tongue, and when the boy's eyes narrowed, she knew it truly was his name. She raised her hands, a sign that said she meant no harm. "I just want...to talk...Uchiha-san."

It took a moment, but he gave a curt nod. "Speak then."

Sakura nodded back, and began to say what the wind told her. "I know...what happened, Uchiha-san."

Itachi stiffened, but other than that, did not do anything else. Staying silent.

"...and..." Sakura paused, trying to sort out her thoughts and words, "...and, it's not your fault."

"What would you know?" Itachi snarled, unable to bite back his retort. Who was this little girl? And how did she know? How _could _she know anything?

Sakura shook her head, and because she did not know how to answer the question, she continued on with her message. "I will help you...I will watch over your younger brother, but on one condition."

Itachi's hands were itching to knock the girl out (not harm, he had no reason to). He was in a rush. Soon, platoons of ANBU would be on his tail, and he needed to put as much space as he could before they moved, but then, the girl had mentioned his brother. His younger brother who was precious, who he dearly loved. The one person he would do anything to protect. Even if it meant going rogue...and she was offering to protect him? But how could a little girl do such a thing? By the looks of it, she was Sasuke's age. So how...?

He doubted the pink haired girl. He even showed it as he stared at her with disbelief, but she only smiled at him. She seemed...confident. Itachi mulled over his words, debating on whether or not she could trust him. She did manage to catch up to him, which was a difficult task for even shinobi his age to do. She also said she _knew_, which made him question _how_. Or maybe she was lying? Maybe all of this was pure luck, and she was trying to lull him to safety?

Itachi came to a decision when he sensed several chakra signature coming from the direction of Konoha. He narrowed his eyes at the girl, but nodded.

"Very well...and what is...this condition?"

"Do not give up hope."

* * *

><p><em> Once he agreed, Itachi left. I did the same, and disappeared into the forest, heading back to Konoha. The trees and wind had told me it was best to not be caught by the ANBU, and so, led me back to my village, revealing a secret entrance on the east side that no one in the present time knew about. They also led me home, where my parents were waiting.<em>

_ I didn't get there until sunrise, and when I did, they pulled me into their arms, squeezing me and planting kisses on my tired face. They apologized for what they said, assured me that they did not think I was a demon and loved me. That all those people could just "mind their own business" because I was their precious daughter. It made me happy. I was truly relieved, but I decided to not make them worry. I decided that whatever I found out, whatever I was told by the voices of Nature, I would keep the information to myself...unless it was needed. Inner Sakura agreed with me._

_ Later on, three days after my decision, I went to Moku-oji-san, and told him what had happened. I asked him about Itachi Uchiha, and why I had to go after him. At the time, when he told me the story, I didn't really get it, and only understood one thing: Itachi Uchiha wasn't entirely bad._

_ I then asked Moku how the trees and wind had helped me, but that afterwards, I was really tired._

_ "_When you want nature to bend to your will, you must use your energy, hime," he explained, "At the same time, if you allow it, then Nature will use your own energy to move on its own. Like the trees and winds did to assist you in your chase after Itachi Uchiha. That is why you were exhausted. The energy you have determines the limit of the second power of your kekkai genkai_."_

_ When he spoke his next words, it sounded like he was grinning._

_ "_You are becoming very strong, very fast, Sakura-hime. Just rememer...

...Listen_."_

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Sakura's range of age in this chapter: 4-8 years old.**  
><em>

**_Thanks for reading! Please review!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry spelling and grammatical errors. I'm trying!**

**Also, slow beginning...but it is needed.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: More Voices<strong>

* * *

><p>"<em>No, no, hime. It's the <em>ox_ sign._"

"_What are you talking about?! It's the _monkey_ sign!_"

"_No! _Boar!_"_

"_You're _both_ wrong! It's _snake_!"_

Sakura blinked, staring at the four trees before her.

"_Boar!_"

"_Ox!"_

_ "Monkey!"_

_ "Snake!"_

She sighed, raising a hand to ruffle the back of her head as she turned away. The arguing trees didn't even notice her leaving, crossing the shadowed training ground. It was early, the sun having only risen half an hour ago. Yawning a little, Sakura made her way to a small boulder near the middle of the field. She crouched down to its level and placed a hand on top of it.

"Morning, Iwa-san."

"_Morning, hime,_" it said softly, voice female. Young, but older than Sakura's twelve year old self. "_How can I help you_?"

"There's a jutsu chibi-moku-san was trying to teach me," Sakura answered, motioning her hand over her shoulder; toward a line of trees right behind standing several feet away. She was referring to the shortest one of the bunch. "But the other Moku-sans are saying he doesn't remember it correctly, and yet, they all are telling me different things.

_"I see..." _Iwa said, "_What justu are they teaching you?"_

"It's an earth based jutsu. Something to do with being able to move underground fluidly like a fish in a water," Sakura explained.

"_Ahh...Earth Style: Underground Move Jutsu. I've seen that justu done several times,_" Iwa commented, voice tinted with amusement. "_I believe it is a C-rank jutsu, correct?Are you not too young for it, hime? You have yet to become a genin_."

Sakura pouted a little, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't you believe that I will pass the exams today, Iwa-san?"

Laughter filled the young girl's head. "_Of course, hime. You've grown very strong. I have no doubt that you will be one of the best of your time._"

Sakura's lips stretched into a wide grin as her head bobbed up and down. "Thanks, Iwa-san! ...Now then, about the jutsu..."

"_Yes, the Underground Move..._" Iwa chuckled, "_Well, most of what chibi-moku-san taught you is correct._"

"So the last sign _is_ ox?"

"_I said _most_, hime. He is actually wrong about the last sign_," Iwa pointed out.

"Then what is it? Monkey? Boar? Snake?"

"_None. It's actually rat._"

Sakura paused for a moment, mulling over her words. Then, in an instant, she stood and turned around, her hands cupping around her mouth. "Moku-sans! You were _all_ wrong! Iwa-san says its rat!"

Their reaction was automatic.

"_What-!"_

_ "No, it is not-"_

_ "You're going to believe an-"_

_ "-old bat-"_

_ "-bad memory-"_

Rolling her eyes, the twelve year old pinkette ran her hands through the justu quickly. Despite what Iwa-san said, Sakura had a decent amount of jutsu under her belt; a majority of them were earth and wind; a few fire and water; and a single wood jutsu. They were mostly D and C-ranked, and one or two were B-rank. For the past five years, since she took to being trained _by_ nature, she became strong...for a genin. An arsenal of jutsu, above average for genjutsu, not too bad in taijutsu, quite skilled with weaponry - these ranges of skills were determined by the set of average skills for a genin and chunin. She wasn't going to fool herself. At most, she was somewhere between being an average chunin to a skilled chunin.

Nowhere near a jounin. Not yet anyways, because some of the few things Sakura took real pride in was her perfect memory and being able to learn quickly.

Her brow was furrowed in concentration as she felt her chakra spike a little.

Nothing happened.

Sighing, Sakura went through the signs again, but this time, with a little more chakra. An almost silent poof suddenly filled her ears, and the next thing she knew, she was in complete darkness. Raising a brow, Sakura twisted her body around, moving here and there, finding that she almost felt light as a feather when she was actually underground. _Hmm...not too hard_, she thought with a smile before shooting up and, without disrupting the earth's surface, popped up behind the Moku-sans.

"Yup! Iwa-san is right!"

The trees' voices grumbled in her head, a few insults of Iwa-san being thrown in. From a distance, Iwa-san only laughed, teasing the trees about the ones who actually has "bad memory." Sakura giggled a little before returning to her training. She went through her new Earth Jutsu again, missing the first try, but getting it the second time. She then went through it again and again and again, until she was comfortable enough that she was able to execute it on the first try repeatedly. Once that was covered, she went through a few more earth jutsu, a fire jutsu, a water jutsu, and then ended training with taijutsu, fighting imaginary enemies. By the time Sakura was finished, she was panting and covered in sweat. She also noticed that if she didn't leave now, she was going to be late for her (hopefully) last day at the Academy.

"Well, I got to go! Thanks for the help Iwa-san, Moku-sans!" she yelled as she left the training ground. She was never aware of the single onyx eye that had been watching her entire training session.

"_Do you think we should have warned hime about that man?_" Chibi-moku-san questioned softly.

"_There was no reason to,_" another answered, "_He means no harm_."

"_If he becomes a threat to hime_," Iwa-san spoke aloud in her soft voice, "_Then we will warn her...but for now, he is practically harmless._"

"_How do you know that?_" a third tree questioned.

"_He goes often to visit my brethren_," Iwa-san explained, "_The one that holds the names of the shinobi that have fallen in battle._"

"_Ahh...so he is the 'Broken Soul' that visits the memorial stone so often. So many of our brothers and sisters speak of him; many of them even cry for him_," the last of the four trees that were training Sakura commented.

The group sensed as a silver haired man disappeared from the area.

"..._Kakashi Hatake._"

* * *

><p>"Woohoo! I <em>passed<em>!" Sakura shouted at the top of her lungs, running out of the Academy's entrance. Several other children cheered and ran like her, while a few others walked at a more casual place with a smile. Sakura came to an abrupt halt, however, as she watched a majority of the others kids being congratulated by their parent(s). Turning her head from left, then to right, she saw that her parents were not present. She frowned a little at this, her excitement now dwindling a little.

Her parents hated that she went into the field of a shinobi. Since the very beginning, when she told them of her intentions to become a kunoichi, her father did well in trying to change her mind. During the days she didn't have school, he would bring her to the shop. At night, when the Academy was done and he was finished with work, he would tell her stories of his travels of a merchant. He would go into detail of the large trading network he had that extended into several of the elemental countries, and if she were to follow his footsteps, then she would forever live in luxury. Her mother didn't try as much as her father, but she was just as hard pressed to get her daughter away from the dangerous life of a shinobi. Every time Sakura got hurt, her mother would not only scold her, but slip in how she will get hurt a lot more if Sakura was to continue down this path.

There were also a few nights where her mother would cry, begging her child not to do it, and it was those moments that were the hardest for Sakura.

_"Sakura-hime! Sakura-hime!"_

A strong rush of winds suddenly blew past Sakura, eliciting several cries of surprise by people around her. The trees planted at the entrance of the Academy began to rustle their leaves furiously. Vaguely, Sakura heard the comments of how odd the weather was today, but she paid little attention to those. Instead, she focused on the several voices that were congratulating her.

_"You're a genin now!"_

_ "Congratulations!"_

_ "I knew you-"_

_ "-awesome-"_

_ "-kick butt!"_

_ "-strong-"_

_ "Show the world-"_

_ "Keep training-"_

_ "-proud of you."_

Sakura giggled softly, closing her eyes as she listened. She could feel a few pairs of eyes on her, but she didn't care. The voices of nature were always there for her. They always cheered for her, helping her, comforted her...and reminded her when she wavered even the slightest in her goal. Those hard nights when her mother would cry? Soft breezes would blow into her room, whispering words of encouragement. When the peaceful life of a merchant sounded alluring, Moku-oji-san would tell her stories of her ancestors that were shinobi and kunoichi. Yes, living the life of a kunoichi was dangerous. Yes, it was scary with your life always hanging on a thread. Yes, it was painful with the high possibility of future friends being lost, but it was _fulfilling_. Sakura was granted with this gift for a reason, and she believed that reason was to use it to help protect those who need it - who deserve it.

_Speaking of Moku-oji-san, I should go and see him_, Sakura thought, reopening her emerald eyes. Still smiling, she turned to her right, destination now in mind. The wind was still blowing, though more gentle, causing her long pink hair to slightly billow in the air. She had decided to let it grow over the past few years by the encouragement of the winds. They mentioned how they liked running through people's hair, and would love to do so with their hime. Not that Sakura minded. It always felt like someone's fingers were running through her pink mane, and it felt incredibly soothing. Her wardrobe had also changed since she was little. By her mother's request, she wore a long red dress that had slits on the sides from the bottom to her thighs, and blue sandals. A white circle was printed on the back of her dress, the symbol of her family, and underneath she wore a pair of spandex shorts.

"Hey! Forehead girl!"

In mid-step, Sakura looked back over her shoulder to see a familiar blonde with ocean blue eyes that were glaring at her. Ino Yamanaka, her now ex-best friend. She was dressed in a sleeveless navy blue top with a turtleneck collar, a matching skirt with shorts underneath, and blue sandals. Like Sakura. she had also grown out her light blonde hair, pulling it up into a high ponytail. Unlike Sakura, she grew her hair for a more...materialistic reason. For a boy, specifically. A boy that was heading in Sakura's direction.

_Ahh, so that's why she's glaring at me_.

The boy was their age with jet black hair and matching eyes. His hair had bangs framing his face, and spiked in the back. He was dressed in a dark blue shirt with a high collar and white short pants. On the back of his shirt was a circular fan, the top half being red and the bottom half being white - the symbol of the Uchiha Clan - and gripped in his right hand was his hitai-ate.

"Hi Sasuke," Sakura greeted once he reached her right side.

He glanced at her, gave a small nod, stuffed his left hand into the pocket of his shorts, and said, "Hn." Then he continued on walking, but at a much more slower pace as he passed the pinkette. Sakura sighed at this, knowing that this was his way of asking if she wanted to hang out. If she followed, then it was a yes. If she didn't, then it was a no.

"Forehead, don't think this means you won! Sasuke-kun _will _be mine!"

"_Girl, have you no shame?" _Inner Sakura shouted within Sakura's mind, while Sakura herself slightly tilted her head as she raised her hand in greeting. She completely ignored Inner Sakura, used to her random comments throughout the day. Though, she had to admit that her mental self was speaking a lot more now. Inwardly sighing at the possible trouble _that_ meant, Sakura hurried to catch up with Sasuke, who was a several feet away now. Four years ago, about a week or two after the Itachi thing, there was this Kaze-san that reminded her of her promise to him; the promise to watch over his younger brother. It was the same Kaze-san that told her what to say to Itachi, and he kept bugging her until she went through with her word...

...which she would have done even without his annoying reminders!

* * *

><p>"You have to go now, Sakura-hime."<p>

"He'll fall into hatred."

"Please go be there for him."

"It'll be hard, but please do this for Itachi."

"It will ease Itachi's pain to know that Sasuke is in good hands, and it will help to ease Sasuke's grief to have an actual friend."

...

_Sakura sighed. This Kaze-san was getting really annoying. Every morning, when she woke up, he told her to go to the Uchiha compound; every night, he would whisper for her to go to the Uchiha Compund the next day; throughout the day, he practically pushed her in the direction of Uchiha Compound. Like right now. Wind was blowing at her back, urging her to hurry...even when she was _already_ heading over to where Sasuke Uchiha lived!_

Honestly, I wish Kaze-san was a person. So then I could hit him!

_ Throughout the little trip, little Sakura came up with all kinds of things she could do to Kaze-san. Though, being only eight years old meant Sakura didn't come up with anything really drastic. Probably, the worst punishment she was thinking of was kicking Kaze-san in the shin and ignoring him for a long time. That seemed to always work on her father whenever he made her mad. He would even come home with a little gift for Sakura in hopes to make it up to her...which always worked. Who was Sakura to deny a cute little stuffed teddy bear? Or a pretty necklace? Or a pretty dress? Or the crimson red hair pin he got her-_

"Hime, this way."

_Having been in her wonderland of all the pretty-pretty things she got and could get, Sakura didn't realize she had entered the Uchiha Compound. Not until a sudden push of wind had her jerking to the right, causing her to stumble and almost losing her footing completely. Grumbling under her breathe about how mean Kaze-san is (in which he chuckled a little, earning a glare from the girl), Sakura found herself going around a huge house and coming face to face with a tall wooden face. She frowned a little. The fence was a few inches taller than her, which meant she couldn't see anything on the other side._

_ "Kaze-san?" she whispered._

_ "_Of course, hime,_" he answered, knowing her intentions._

_ Smiling a little, she reached up, grabbing the top of the fence, and jumped. A gust of wind flew up from beneath her feet, helping her to jump over the wooden barrier. At the same time, she could feel a small tug at her chakra. Upon landing, Sakura felt like she had broke into a hard sprint and was breathing a little hard. A few deep breaths took care of that, however, and soon, she was just taking in the new area._

_ She was now in the backyard of the house she had gone around, and it was huge!_

_ Emerald eyes widened at the large yard that eventually disappeared into the lines of trees of the forest at the end. Several different flowers were planted all over the place and in the center of it all was a large koi pond. Closer to the big house was a large garden of vegetables, and tending to it was a small black haired boy. Or, well, actually, he was just sitting beside it with a half eaten tomato in hand. He was also staring right at Sakura, eyes filled with suspicion and anger._

_ "Uhh...hi?" Sakura said, hesitant._

_ The two children stared at each other for several seconds. Neither doing or saying anything, and then..._

_ "GET OUT!" Sasuke screamed and threw his half eaten tomato at Sakura._

* * *

><p>That day was the day Sakura lost her favorite white pants to a stupid tomato staining it. It was also the day Sakura's mind began to delve into more...painful ways as to how she could hurt Kaze-san, and over the years, Sakura can happily state that she wasn't too bad in the arts of torture. For a twelve year old anyways. Too bad she would never be able to use any of them on Kaze-san... Sakura pouted at the reminder, but then smiled when she remembered another important thing that happened on that day.<p>

Sasuke and she became friends.

Really close friends.

...after Sakura stopped crying and exclaiming how big of a "meanie" the Uchiha boy was...

Come on. She _really_ liked her white pants! And because the Uchiha had stained it, her mother believed it would be best if she didn't wear white anymore. So she couldn't replace said white pants with another pair! It was totally unfair!

Unfortunately, because Sakura became close friends with _the_ Sasuke Uchiha, who didn't put up with _anyone_ in class, especially since the massacre, she became the heart of all young girl's jealousy. Especially when they became older and everyone was starting their awkward stage into teenager-hood, where hormones were all over the place. This eventually led to the ending of the friendship between Sakura and Ino. The way Ino saw it, she had claimed Sasuke _first_, and as her best friend, Sakura, who was close to Sasuke, should help her get with the boy. When the pinkette didn't, Ino concluded that her so-called best friend was hogging the boy and said she couldn't be friends with a "back stabber."

"Are you going to do anything with your parents?" Sasuke questioned softly, voice a bit stiff. Broken out of her memories, Sakura gave Sasuke a grin. He rolled his eyes. Her grin only widened.

"No," she answered, "So that means we're celebrating together!"

Sasuke raised a brow. "I did not agree to this."

"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke," Sakura shook her head in a disappointment like matter, and placed a hand on his shoulder. She felt him tense, but then quickly relaxed when he realized she wasn't going to do anythig...painful. Kaze-san may have managed to escape her punishments, but others weren't so lucky. "You should already know that you don't have a choice in the matter."

"You're not the boss of me," he grunted defiantly.

""Nope, but I'm your best friend!" Sakura cheered, sliding her hand on his shoulder to the other, pulling him into a single arm hug. "So you'll agree to it anyways."

Sasuke grunted.

Translation: Yeah, I know.

* * *

><p>Sakura inwardly groaned, raising her fingers to rub her temples. Too many voices were banging against her shield, a lot of them leaking through. In her mind, Inner Sakura was shouting at them to stay back. Loudly. Not that it helped. Her Inner's voice easily became lost in those of Nature's.<p>

_"Get away-"_

_ "-not safe-"_

_ "-burns!"_

_ "-painful-"_

_ "-evil-"_

_ "-help him!"_

_ "-poor creature-"_

_ "-freedom lost-"_

_ "-killer!"_

_ "-prisoner!"_

_ "-cold blood-"_

_ "-misunderstood-"_

_ "__**KURAMA**__."_

Her head was beginning to throb at the clashing voices. One group was telling her to run. The other was telling her to stay. Along with their shouts, Sakura could feel an onslaught of her own questions. Who was Kurama anyways? Why should she run away? Who is she supposed to help? What were they talking about? At some point, Sakura began to clutch her head and outwardly groan. She didn't realize what she was doing until she could feel a gloved hand place on top of her head.

Shocked, emerald eyes shot upward to meet a single onyx eye. The other was hidden by a hitai-ate that was pulled down to cover it. The eye was filled with worry and curiosity, belonging to a man with silver hair that stood up in a slightly slanted position. His lower half was covered with a woolen mask, its material stretching down his neck and disappearing into a dark green flask vest that had a long sleeved navy blue shirt underneath, matching his pants. Adorning his hands were black fingerless gloves, and on his feet were black colored sandals. A kunai holster was strapped to the inside of his right thigh, and, because she saw it earlier, clipped to to the back of his right hip was a small pouch - both black.

"Sakura, are you OK?" a voice said from her left.

Turning her head, which caused the man to pull back his hand, Sakura saw Sasuke staring at her intently. His own onyx eyes that were usually hard and cold, were currently softened by worry. Blinking, Sakura took a moment to register her surroundings. She was on the Academy's roof...with her new team. That's right, it was the day after graduation, and she had been assigned her teammates. They were, at the moment, introducing themselves. One of them was Sasuke Uchiha. The other...

Looking to her other side, Sakura met a pair of worried sky blue eyes. They belonged to another boy her age, who had short spiky blonde hair and whisker-like features on his cheeks. He was dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit that had a bit of blue here and there, along with blue sandals.

...Naruto Uzumaki.

_"-unfortunate-"_

_ "-dangerous-"_

_ "-help him!_

_ "-run away!"_

_ "He-"_

_**ENOUGH! **_Sakura yelled in her mind, and just like that, the voices disappeared. Inner Sakura gave a relieved sigh, falling down to lie on the ground, and gave a mock salute. Outer Sakura let out a sigh as well, relieved that everything had finally quieted down in her mind. She then eyed the blonde beside her cautiously. Naruto Uzumaki. This always happened anytime she was near him. The voices would begin to yell, piercing through her shields, screaming for her to either get away or get closer, and because of this, she was careful to avoid the boy. Fate, however, seemed to think otherwise, and put him in her team.

"Sakura?" a deep voice called out.

The named girl turned to meet the gaze of the last team member and leader of Team Seven. A jounin, Kakashi Hatake. He was staring down at her intently. She gave him a tired smile.

"Sorry, sensei," she said, "Migraine..."

He gave an understanding nod, though, the look in his eye said he didn't believe her completely. "I see... Well, we're almost done for the day. You just have to give your introductions, and that will be all."

"Ahh, OK..." she cleared her throat, ignoring the gazes of her newly appointed teammates. "Uhm...what are we supposed to say again, Kakashi-sensei?" She blushed a little, embarrassed that she had easily forgot.

His eye closed, crinkling in a way that gave off the impression that he was smiling. "Your name, hobbies, dislikes, likes, and current dream," he answered.

She nodded. "Well...my name is Sakura Haruno. My hobby is reading and taking long walks. I like to train and talk to my friends-"

_"That's us! That's us!"_ a small breeze shouted, blowing across the roof. Sakura sighed, her concentration on her shields had lessened a little as she thought of what to say.

"-and I dislike it when _people_ annoy me," she stated, emphasizing on 'people'. Both Sasuke and Kakashi raised a brow at this, while Naruto smiled sheepishly, as if guilty.

_"Sorry, hime..." _a chorus of voices said softly.

"My dream...my dream..." she smiled softly, "My dream is to protect those who need it - who deserve it." She thought of Itachi and Sasuke when she said that, remembering that they were unwillingly put to walk a path they did not want.

Kakashi's curiosity was peaked. "...and how would you know who deserves your protection?"

"Easy," Sakura gave a grin. One that said she knew something that he did not, and she did. She knew a lot of things not very many people knew. Then again, there were still many things that she had yet to learn. Like who was Kurama, and why the voices seem to become more aggressive when near Naruto. She took a mental note that she will have to ask Moku-oji-san once she got the chance.

"You just have to listen carefully, sensei."

* * *

><p>That night, after her first team meeting, which ended with Kakashi telling them when to meet tomorrow morning and that they shouldn't eat breakfast, Sakura had a weird dream. At first, it started with her being in complete darkness. Then, there was a bright flash of light. Being blinded, Sakura raised her hands to cover her face, but just as soon as it appeared, the light disappeared, replaced with a heat that licked at Sakura's skin. Curious, she dropped her arms, and felt herself freeze.<p>

She was still in complete darkness, but she wasn't alone.

Sitting on its hunches, a red fox stared at her with burning crimson eyes. The heat Sakura was feeling was coming from the fox in waves. Behind it, nine tails swayed gracefully from left to right, and somewhere in the back of her mind, Sakura questioned if they were as soft as they looked. However, despite the soft graceful looking tails, or the fact that the fox had nine tails to begin with (how weird is that), what had Sakura frozen in her spot was the hatred and killing intent that came off of this animal. Swallowing dryly, Sakura managed to pull out the tiniest bit of courage.

"W-Who are you?" she questioned softly.

The fox grinned.

"_I'm Kurama, Sakura-hime."_

Sakura furrowed her brow. "But you're...an animal...I can only talk to Nature's voices... Like trees, fire, wind, water, flowers, rocks..."

His grin seem to only widen, revealing his very sharp canine teeth.

_"I _am _part of nature, hime._" He suddenly disappeared, red wisps taking its place. Said wisps then shot at Sakura, swirling around her with hot air.

_"When I was sealed away, a part of my chakra was absorbed into earth. Sakura-hime, I am part of nature_," he repeated.

"_And I've been waiting to speak to you. Waiting until you were able to hear _my_ voice."_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ahh...so, because I don't like writing during the time they were genin, I jump around, because come on...you all know what happened. Anyways, what does Kurama want to talk to Sakura about! Find out in the next chapter, which will also have Zabuza and Haku. By the way, should those two die or live? What happens to them will in fact affect this story, so I will leave the choice to you!  
><strong>

**Updates come every one to two weeks on either Sunday or Monday; depending how busy I am. If later, then its because I am REALLY busy. Or I'm working details out. One of the two.  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Alright, I'm sorry for the unexpected hiatus. Things got a bit hectic at school (had this huge exam that I passed!), a bit of drama, internet problems, a sudden manga/anime craze, an externship where I worked at a urgent care clinic for a while to complete school hours, computer problems, a cousin having boy problems...and yeah, I think you get the picture.**

**Life gets hectic.**

**Anyways, here it is! Chapter 3!**

**Sorry for the long wait!**

**Sorry for spelling and grammar errors!**

**&Sorry, but Haku and Zabuza are not in this chapter, but they will be in the next!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: The Test<br>**

"…_is there something that you want, Kurama-san?" Sakura questioned hesitantly, her emerald eyes watching the fox warily._

_ "_Can I not appear before you to simply speak_?" the fox questioned, an amused glint shining in his blood red eyes._

_ He stood._

_ Sakura leapt back, creating a fair amount of distance between her and the animal. Her instincts were screaming at her to run, that she was in danger. She could sense the power practically thrumming in her dark surroundings. She could _feel_ it brush against her and suffocate her own chakra, as if it was letting her know that she was nothing compared to it…and the power was all coming from the fox that began to chuckle._

_ "_You are hurting my feelings, Sakura-_hime," he stated, stretching out her title as if to mock her._

_ Sakura bit the inside of her cheek._

_ "Whatever you wish to speak about, we can do it at this distance," she stated._

_ "_Now, now, no need for hostility, _child," he retorted, his voice whispering directly into her ear._

_ A burning sensation unexpectedly wrapped around her abdomen, ripping into her skin. Unable to register the sudden sensation, Sakura could only gasp in pain as she realized that Kurama was no longer before her. Instead, he now stood beside her, one of his nine tails twisting around her. If it wasn't for the burning, it would have been like the tail was caressing her in a loving and protective way, but as the pain grew, Sakura knew it was anything, but._

_ With a shout of pain, she ripped her person away from the red fox and hurled herself forward. From the deep raspy laughter behind her, Sakura had a feeling that the fox had _let_ her get free. Irritation filled her. Twisting around to face him, she now looked at him with anger and determination. Noting her glare, Kurama silenced his laughter and narrowed his eyes darkly._

_ "Are you done playing?" Sakura hissed._

_ His tails seemed to bristle and began to whip around his body. "_Watch your tongue_," he growled, "Child."_

_ She ignored his warning, and repeated her earlier question. "What do you want?"_

_ "_Impudent girl, I see you have yet to realize who I am. The intelligence among you weak humans has greatly decreased_," he grumbled, lying down on the ground. "_If not for the power in you, I would destroy you where you stand, and you would be left as a vegetable in the physical world."

_ Sakura tensed at his words. "Then tell me who you are! And what is it that you want from me?"_

_ Before Kurama could even speak with his growing impatience, the ground began to tremble and a crack appeared between him and Sakura. A white light seeped through it, and as the ground continued to shake, the crack grew wider. Sakura watched in a mixture of fear and shock has a gloved hand shout out. It grasped the ground of her side as another hand appeared. The two appendages then began to pull, and to her surprise and relief, Inner Sakura appeared._

_ "_You dare interrupt me_?" Kurama hissed as Inner Sakura pulled herself up out of the crack and stood in front of Sakura protectively, glaring venomously at the fox._

_ "You dare to try and make my creator do your bidding?" she shot back, and before a response could be given, Inner Sakura's shadowed hands came together. The noise made by her palms conneting seemed to resound loudly through the air, and Sakura watched in silent awe as white cracks seeped through the dark world. In another moment, everything shattered, and she found herself standing in ankle deep murky water._

_ Her brow furrowed in confusion as she took in her new surroundings. There were walls of dark colored metal with water slowly dripping down its surface. There seemed to be no ceiling as Sakura looked up to see nothing, but black. Behind her were a set of tall metal bars and on the other side of them was a corridor. Just like what was within what so obviously was a large cell, there was murky water that hid the floor. The walls, also metal, took a light shade of bronze compared to the room of imprisonment with pipes lining them._

_ "_Now suffer in your prison from now and forever, because you will never be given what you so desperately want, you fox_!"_

_ The sudden declaration from Inner Sakura had the real Sakura returning her attention to her mental barrier personified and the red fox…but to her confusion, the fox was no longer small. It was now large, more than double times the size of the Hokage Tower in Konoha. Its red fur now had a hue of orange and seemed to dance around; the sight akin to crackling fire. His large nine tails were still, tense, and positioned in a pointed way that looked like they were about to attack._

_ And that's when Sakura realized who Kurama truly was._

T-The Nine-Tailed Fox…

_ He roared angrily. "You, a figment of a child's imagination, dare speak to me like that! Well, know this," he lowered his head, lips pulled back to reveal his sharp canine teeth in a snarl, "I will be free from this prison—with or without the help of this Haruno child!"_

_ His tails then shot forward, and Inner Sakura quickly spun around and ran. She grabbed Sakura's wrist as she passed her, and the pinkette had no problems against following after her counterpart. She could feel the heat of the nine tailed fox's chakra licking at the back of her legs, and just as she and Inner Sakura slipped through the cell's bars, her shoulder exploded in pain. She screamed and Inner Sakura cursed at the demon behind them._

_ "Bastard!"_

"…and that's what happened, Moku-oji-san."

"_It seems you have had yourself quite an adventure, hime_."

Sakura huffed, tilting her head back to look up into the heavy foliage of leaves of the grand tree she sat up against. It was around six-thirty in the morning and an hour since she awoke from her nightmare. "I guess you could say that… If Inner Sakura hadn't come and broken me out, who knows what would have happened… By the way, she said she wouldn't have known what was going on had a gust of wind not suddenly blown into the room, informing that you wanted to speak with me."

The leaves rustled slightly with no breeze present. A few escaped from the tree's branches and fluttered down to her, brushing against her cheek before reaching the ground. "_I sensed what that Nine Tailed Demon was doing…and recognized the danger inside of it._"

Sakura hummed in agreement with the great tree, unconsciously raising a hand to her left shoulder where the nine tailed demon had struck her. Physically, her shoulder was completely fine. After having awoken from her dream—_though it was much more than just a dream, what else was she supposed to call it?_—she had pulled down the sleeve of her nightshirt and saw no markings whatsoever. No blood, no wound. Just like around her waist. Yet, there was undeniably a burning pain, and while it had gone down to a dull throb, Sakura realized that this was more like ghost pain.

"…but Moku-oji-san, I'm curious…how did the Nine Tailed Demon get into my dreams? Wasn't he sealed?"

"_…Hime, he did not enter your dreams. Instead, you entered his domain._"

She cocked her head to the side, emerald eyes glazed with confusion. "I don't understand…"

Moku sighed softly in her mind. "_To put it in simpler terms…he summoned you to his domain where he is imprisoned._"

Sakura blinked. "Is that possible?"

"_With your gift, and his power, it is,_" Moku answered.

"How?"

"_You still have yet to master your ability, Hime, and because of that, those that are intertwined with nature can contact you easily… That is, as long as they have the power to do so._"

Sakura's eyes widened as she recalled Kurama's words.

_"When I was sealed away, a part of my chakra was absorbed into earth."_

"So…because his chakra was sealed into the earth…"

"_Exactly. His chakra that was sealed into the earth has become a part of it. He has no way to use it, but through it, he gained a connection with you and summoned you to where he is sealed. It was through my own roots that is deeply burrowed into the earth was I able to sense what was going on._"

"…does that mean he can summon me anytime he likes?"

"_Not unless you let him. The only reason why he succeeded this time was because you did not know you were being summoned. It was all just an odd dream to you, right? …but now that you know how it feels—now that you have a way to recognize it, you can block it. After all, you were able to break out from there._"

"That was Inner Sakura who did it though…"

"_And Inner Sakura is a part of you._"

Sakura said nothing, and only nodded.

Then, she remembered something that peak her curiosity.

"Moku-oji-san, do you know _where_ Kurama is sealed?"

There was a moment of silence.

"_No, I do not child._"

"Oh, OK."

The leaves above her head rustled again. "_Now then, you did say that your team will meet at about seven?_"

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei told us to meet him in front of the training grounds."

She heard a silent snort in her head. "_That man is your teacher? If that's the case, then you don't have to be there until at least ten, Hime_."

"What do you mean?"

"_Rumors of him have spread through my brethren. The winds even speak of him, repeating words of rocks._"

"And…? What do they say?"

"_Your teacher is notoriously known for being horribly late for scheduled meetings._"

"Eh…?"

"Seeing as we have time_… Sakura-hime, let me tell you a little trick. I'm sure you've noticed it, but haven't realized what it is…_"

Sakura couldn't help, but repeat herself again.

"Eh?

* * *

><p><em>Moku-oji-san was right, <em>Sakura thought as she approached a small red bridge that was built over a stream. There, she saw Sasuke and Naruto waiting. Sasuke was leaning against the railings with his arms crossed over his shoulders, and looked beyond annoyed and about to knock someone's lights out. Said person was most likely the blonde who walked from one end of the bridge to the other. Complaints fell from his lips with every second that passed by, and when both he and Sasuke noticed Sakura approaching, his complaints were directed to her.

"Sakura-chan! Where have you been? Why are you late? Sasuke-teme and I have been waiting here forever for you and Kakashi-sensei! By the way, is that guy with you? Gosh, why did he tell us to meet here at seven, but it's already ten-thirty and he's not even here yet!? It's like it's been years since we've been waiting for you guys!"

"Shut up, dobe. It's only been three hours."

"Yeah, three hours wasted! I could have had dozens of bowls of ramen by now at Ichiraku's!"

Sasuke only rolled his eyes, deeming that that didn't even deserve a response, and directed his attention to Sakura. "Why _are _you late, Sakura?"

Sakura shrugged, giving a nervous chuckle. "Well…someone told me about Kakashi's late habits…"

"What?! And you didn't even let me know, Sakura-chan?!" Naruto shouted, pointing his finger accusingly.

Sasuke didn't say anything, but his silent glare told Sakura that he agreed with the blonde.

"Sorry, I was talking to someone, and couldn't come until now to tell you, but to make it up to you…" She raised her right hand, where a large paper bag hung from her fingers. "I got you something to eat…"

"Is it ramen?!"

"Uhh…no," Sakura said, sweat dropping. "It's just simple bentos." She set the bag onto the bridge and crouched down. Taking out a dark blue colored container, she held it out in Sasuke's position. "Here, Sasuke. It's not much, but I was sure to add sliced tomatoes."

"Hn… Thanks," the raven haired boy said, grabbing his lunch.

Sakura smiled in return, and took out a dark orange container and held this one out to Naruto. She ignored the hum of voices telling her to get away from him, or to help release Kurama. "Here, Naruto. Uhm…I didn't know what you like, so I just added a few extra onigiri and some hot dogs, if that's OK."

"It's perfect, Sakura-chan! Thanks!" he said enthusiastically. He wasted no time in taking a seat and ripping the lid off his lunch, taking a pair of chopsticks that Sakura had handed him, and dug in. He was taking in such large amounts at an alarming rate that he eventually began to choke. Sakura laughed as Naruto's eyes widened with fear and began to water before giving him a bottle of water. He took it quickly and easily drank about half it to get his food down.

"T-Thanks, S-Sakura-chan," he said between coughs.

"No problem," she said with a small smile before handing another bottle of water to Sasuke. He nodded in gratitude as he grabbed it and set it on top of the rail beside him. He then returned to his lunch, which he ate at a much more lax pace and with smaller amounts compared to Naruto.

Still smiling, Sakura took out a red colored lunchbox to join her teammates, taking a seat beside Sasuke. The further away she was from her blonde teammate, the softer the voices…

It was ten minutes into their unscheduled lunch when Kakashi finally decided to join them. Naruto took a moment to point at him, announce how late he was with food sputtering from his mouth (Sakura scolded him for that, and Sasuke grunted in disgust) before returning back to his food. Sasuke gave a nod of welcoming since he was chewing at the moment. Sakura was the only one that gave a polite verbal greeting, which was followed by a grey colored lunchbox and water bottle being nervously held out to her teacher.

Kakashi raised a brow at this, but other than a polite "hello" and "thank you" as he grabbed his food and water, said nothing else and joined his team for lunch.

It was about another ten to fifteen minutes until they were all done, making sure to clean up after themselves and returning the containers to Sakura's paper bag.

"Well, that was unexpected…but a delicious lunch. Thank you for making the food, Sakura," Kakashi said, his eye smiling and crinkling at the only female.

Sakura smiled back, "No problem."

"Ahh…" he nodded, "But I thought I said that you guys shouldn't eat this morning."

"Yeah, _morning_," Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms. "You didn't come until almost eleven, and we were starving!"

"Hmm, I guess you're right, but if you throw up, I'm not the one to blame."

"Huh? Why would I throw up?"

Kakashi said nothing at first, and a sneaking suspicion told Sakura that he was grinning mischievously under that mask of his. She said nothing though, and watched silently as he pulled out something from his pocket.

Two silver bells hung from between his index finger and thumb, jingling softly.

* * *

><p>"So that's where he is…" Sakura mumbled under her breath, and as silently as she could, she moved from underneath the bush she used to hide and ran through the forest. Maneuvering around the trees, she made her way around the clearing to where Sasuke was. It's been about fifteen minutes into their exam to become "official genins." Kakashi had informed them that the tests at the Academy were to ensure they could execute what they learned, while this exam was to make sure they could apply them in the field. What was the exam? To take the silver bells that was attached to the hip of his pants in the next hour. They could use anything in their arsenals of weapons, taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu, but there were two problems.<p>

One, even though it was three against one, Kakashi was a jounin and they were fresh out of the Academy.

Two, there were only two bells, and whoever didn't get one wouldn't be a genin.

It was practically an all for one thing, but how could they possibly get the bells by themselves? They had to work as a team, and yet, they were trying to have the upper hand against each other… At this rate, there were only three options. The three work together and one of them fails, or they don't work together and all of them fail. She clenched her jaws. Those two options were impossible, because none of them wanted to go back to the Academy.

Then there was option three. She teams up with either Naruto or Sasuke—_because no way would those two work together voluntarily_—and they work together to get the bells. The chance is less favorable with two against one than three against one, but it was far better than fighting alone…and seeing that Naruto was currently hanging upside down from a tree, Sasuke was her best bet at the moment. Though, he wouldn't be long if she didn't get to him before Kakashi did. The boy decided to give away his position by hurling kunai and shurikens at their Sensei when he thought his guard was down…

Well, he was wrong.

Sakura mentally sighed. _Better hurry or I'll be too late…_

"_Hime, look out!_"

Sakura came to an abrupt halt as a soft breeze swirled around her. She felt her eyes water when it became a strong gust the next second, causing leaves to whip through the air. Silently cursing, she wiped at her eyes, never noticing the shimmer casted over her surroundings. By the time she was done, the shimmering had stopped, and an injured Sasuke was lying before her. He was struggling across the ground with his arms and legs, and stretched his hand out toward her in pain.

"S-Sakura…help me…"

Her eyes widened in shock. _But when…?_

"_It's not real, Sakura-hime!_"

"_It's a genjutsu._"

"_Don't believe it!_"

Sakura squinted when another gust of wind swirled around her, filled with three different voices. She could faintly hear more somewhere in the back of her mind, but these were the loudest. Registering what they were saying, she slightly nodded and looked up at the sky, ignoring the fake Sasuke before her.

_Can you get rid of it?_ She thought, considering that if Kakashi was close by, then it was best to not speak aloud.

"_Yes._"

"_Pretty weak!_"

"_Not even a challenge!_"

She signed and lowered her head. _Alright, then do it_.

Once again, wind swirled around her with leaves flying past. She watched silently as the Sasuke before her disappeared, and as the wind disappeared, she sensed it. Looking up, she easily saw her silver haired teacher eyeing her with curiosity.

"Well, hello, Sensei," she said before her hands began to fly through signs.

* * *

><p>Kakashi had seen Sakura running through the forest—<em>pink hair was easy to see after all<em>—and noticed she was heading in Sasuke's direction. He sighed. It seemed like the female of the squad had a crush on the dark haired one. _How typical_, he thought with disappointment as he easily caught up with the girl. Hiding his chakra signature, Sakura didn't even know that he was running right above her as he made a sign. A whirlwind of leaves spun around her, and as he settled into a tree, he watched as she settled into his genjutsu.

"Too easy," he muttered, his eyes returning to the little orange book in his hands when her eyes widened with surprise. Now all he had to do was wait for her panicked scream and possibly faint. Just like the other females of the genin squads he tested. He has yet to come across a kunoichi-worthy girl.

The sudden gust of a second wind caught his attention. His lone eyes shot up from his book, and he watched as leaves whipped around the young girl for another time. His gaze narrowed. At first, he believed another genjutsu was being casted on her, which would mean there was someone messing with his current student. However, he realized it was her breaking his genjutsu as the wind disappeared and her emerald eyes focused. They then shot up to meet his, and he stared with disbelief. _What was going on? _He hadn't sense a sudden release of chakra from her. He had sensed a little with that second wind, but it was hardly enough to break his genjutsu. He also didn't see her make the release sign, so…_what exactly did she do?_

"Well, hello, Sensei," she said before her hands began to fly through signs.

"Water Style: Liquid Bullets!" she shouted and opened her mouth wide open, allowing condensed balls of water to shoot out at Kakashi.

Kakashi quickly jumped to the side and landed on a different branch as the one prior shattered by balls of water. He then returned his attention to where the pinkette was, and saw that she was gone. Furrowing his brow, he dropped to the ground and looked around.

Nothing.

Frowning, he dispersed a small amount of chakra, and wasn't all too surprised to find Sakura underground.

Sakura had executed an earth jutsu and was now traveling underground. He recalled her using the underground jutsu yesterday morning when he was watching her, followed by a fire jutsu and the same water jutsu she had just used on him. He released a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. He had read the reports. Both Sakura and Sasuke were exceptional students in class, while Naruto was at the bottom, but obviously, there was something much more to them.

Sasuke was an Uchiha after all, pushed by his thirst for revenge.

Naruto was the son of his late sensei and had the Kyuubi sealed within him.

Sakura? He believed her to be a paper ninja at first…because how well one did in a class wasn't always the same as how well they do in a field. This seemed to not apply to his current students, however, because they were doing just as good…no, even better.

Naruto was able to create several shadow clones.

Sakura broke his genjutsu and can execute different elemental jutsum even if they were low ranked.

Sasuke knew when to attack…and it seemed he just managed to escape his little earth prison Kakashi had put him in. Kakashi had also watched him practice and master fire jutsu common for his clan just last night, so that was another thing too. One of them was pretty highly ranked too.

_ …Oh, it looks like Sakura is with Sasuke now…and what's this? Naruto as well? Interesting…_

* * *

><p>Sakura was relieved when she found herself underground. That split second distraction with her water jutsu left barely enough time for her to escape. Pretty proud of her escape plan, Sakura quickly made her way to the clearing underground, looking for her teammates. She easily found Sasuke, who was struggling at the moment. His body was in the ground with only his head above the surface. Sakura had to suppress a giggle as she moved to part the dirt around him a little, allowing escape to be easier for him. Once she knew he would be fine, she went in search for Naruto, who actually wasn't that far away.<p>

Nodding to herself, Sakura came to a decision.

A cloud of smoke appeared before Naruto, who immediately fell into a defensive stance. His body tense, while his hands formed the familiar sign of the shadow clone jutsu, and waited.

"Hey Naruto," a light voice called out to him, and his body immediately relaxed when a pink hair came into view. Giving a relieved sigh, Naruto gave a wide grin at Sakura.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! For a moment there, I thought you were Kakashi-sensei!" he approached her rather quickly, "By the way, do you know where that teacher is?"

"Uhm…no," she muttered, concentrating on quieting the voices in her head.

"_Get away-!_"

"_-dangerous-_"

"_Unfortunate creature-_"

"_-should be free!_"

She winced a little in pain, but Naruto didn't notice as he looked around in the forest.

"The last time I saw him was over there," she waved her hand to the left, "But he's probably long gone by now."

"Ah, OK. Well, anyways, I got a plan, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, "I know how we can get the bells!"

"Oh? How?" she questioned, honestly curious.

"I was thinking…" he placed a hand on her shoulder, taking note at how stiff she was, but dubbed the cause being her nervous about the this test. "With my awesome strength and your brain power, we could bring Kakashi-sensei down!"

The moment Naruto had touched her, a chorus of voices slammed into her mind. She gritted her teeth, suppressing the urge to slap his hand away. _Inner Sakura?_

"_I'm trying the best I can!_" her inner screamed in her mind, "_You need to get away from him!_"

Sakura shook her head. _ I don't understand…does Naruto have some kind of connection with the Nine Tailed Fox? The voices have only talked about Kurama when Naruto is around…_

"Sakura-chan?"

"Y-Yeah?" she questioned, trying to focus through her inner turmoil.

Naruto was staring worriedly at her. "Are you OK? Do you have another migraine?"

"Yeah…something like that…" she gave him a strained smile before turning away so he wouldn't see her grimace, causing his hand to drop to his side. "Come on, let's go meet up with Sasuke."

"Teme? But we don't need him, Sakura-chan!"

"Let's just go, Naruto," she mumbled, and before he could complain any further, she sprinted forward with him not too far behind.

By the time they reached Sasuke, he was standing next to a deep hole, dusting dirt off of his clothes. Naruto, who must have realized what happened, began to laugh and point at the dark haired boy. He even went as far as falling to the ground, clutching his stomach as he laughed. Sakura couldn't help, but let a few giggles of her own escape, and Sasuke did not look amused at all. He glared warningly at his two teammates.

"S-Sorry, Sasuke…" Sakura said between her giggles, managing to stifle them after a few more seconds. Naruto had also calmed down, but was still chuckling as he stood back up.

"Man, Teme, can't believe you were stuck in the ground!"

"Says the dobe who was hung upside down in a tree," Sasuke retorted, annoyed.

"At least I didn't look stupid!"

He raised a brow. "What are you talking about? You _always_ look stupid."

Naruto opened his mouth, about to say more, but Sakura intervened.

"Come on you guys, stop arguing," she said, hands on her hips as she stared her teammates down. "Kakashi is more than likely on his way here, because you guys are so loud."

"Very good, Sakura, but I'm afraid you stopped them a little too late."

Sakura tensed at the sound of the jounin's voice behind her, and both Sasuke and Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. Just as quickly though, their gazes narrowed in determination, and at the same time, they both executed their own jutsu. Sasuke created several different hand signs and raised a hand to his mouth. Realizing what he was doing, Sakura quickly threw herself to the side as he released a large ball of fire, and entered a puff of smoke. She coughed a little, covering her mouth with one hand and waving the air in front of her as the smoke cleared to reveal at least twenty Naruto's. They charged forward with a battle cry when Kakashi jumped up to dodge Sasuke's fireball. Sasuke himself looked like he was about to jump up to join the fray, but halted when Sakura called out to him.

"What?" he growled irritated, a bit surprised to see the original Naruto standing beside her.

"Come here for a moment. I have a plan."

* * *

><p>Kakashi twisted his body in midair, raising an arm to block an attack and snapped his leg forward to deliver his own. He then grasped one of the blonde clones, using its weight to spin around and hurl the fake Naruto into another. There was a puff of smoke, and through it came another Naruto. He punched this one back into another; another puff of smoke. He then chose to dodge the rest of the blondes' attacks as the ground was fast approaching, and the moment his right foot touched it, raven locks filled his vision. Onyx eyes narrowed, Kakashi leaned to the left, dodging Sasuke's punch, and leapt back.<p>

Sasuke was quick to follow, and behind him were several Naruto's.

Kakashi mentally shook his head. These boys still haven't learned that total confrontation with him was not going to work. His gloved hands flew several signs, and the moment his feet touched the ground—

"Now!" Sasuke shouted.

—the ground itself broke apart as a hand shot upward.

His eye widened, and as he moved to dodge, another hand from the front grasped his vest. Sasuke had grabbed a hold of Kakashi, but that wasn't going to stop the Jounin. Grabbing the younger boy's wrist, he began to twist around, pulling Sasuke with him. The Uchiha grunted, but the silver haired jounin ignored it, instead focusing on the hand below to make sure it didn't grab one of the bells. To his shock—_really, he shouldn't be all that surprised—_the hand was followed by a familiar head of pink hair, and he locked gazes with emerald eyes.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted as she reached for the bells.

_Oh no you don't_, Kakashi thought as he used his free hand to create a sign, planning on substituting himself away. Before he could flare his chakra though, a large cloud of smoke surrounded him, and for a moment, he was blinded. He couldn't see Sakura at all. The moment caused him a second of hesitation before he replaced himself with a nearby log. He now stood in a tree a few meters away and took the scene before him in. Everything had occurred in mere seconds. Sasuke and Sakura were still in the large cloud of smoke, and Naruto was running toward them.

There was only one Naruto.

Where were his clones?

Then it hit him.

The boy had dispersed them to create the smoke, and as it cleared, he saw Sakura and Sasuke smirking at each other, because in Sasuke's hand was a silver bell. Kakashi darted his gaze down to his hip where, yes, one of his bells had been snatched, and everything finally made sense.

_…_

_ The Uchiha grunted, but the silver haired jounin ignored it, instead focusing on the hand below to make sure it didn't grab one of the bells. He was so focused that he didn't notice the odd way Sasuke was twisting his body around, his free hand reaching out to grab a bell. He was then distracted that it was _Sakura_ coming out from under the ground._

_ "Naruto!" she shouted._

On no you don't_, Kakashi thought as he used his free hand to create a sign, planning on substituting himself away. Before he could flare his chakra though, a large cloud of smoke surrounded him, and for a moment, he was blinded. He couldn't see Sakura at all, or Sasuke. The only thing he could see of the boy was the hand in his grasp, so when he replaced himself with a log, looking for the hand from below while doing so, he never noticed the other that came from the side until it was too late._

…

A faint buzz rang throughout the field, and Kakashi sighed.

Time was up.

He flickered to the three children, where Sasuke stood and smirked victoriously. Sakura was giving him a strain smile, and Naruto was complaining about how he and Sakura had to go back to the Academy.

"Oh, come on! That's not fair! That bell should go to me, Teme! Or Sakura-chan since it was her plan!"

_So, Sakura was the mastermind_.

"Congratulations, Sasuke, it looks like you will be the only one to officially become a Genin," he spoke up, turning all attention to himself. "Sakura, Naruto, I'm sorry to say, but you will have to repeat the Academy."

"Totally unfair, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted angrily.

Sakura gave a sigh, and directed a sad smile at Sasuke. She knew this was going to happen when she chose option one: to work with both of her teammates and one had to fail. Too bade it was both she and Naruto though. "Good luck, Sasuke."

Sasuke said nothing, his smirk now gone. Kakashi raised a brow. He could even say that the Uchiha looked a bit…sad? Though, the blank look on his face said otherwise. So it was a surprise to both Sakura and Naruto when he tossed the silver bell back to their sensei.

"You're wrong, Sensei," he grunted, shoving his hands into the pockets of his white shorts. "We all passed."

Kakashi's eye brow rose higher. "Are you forgoing your victory, Sasuke? Because you're the only one that grabbed the bell…or do you want to go back to the Academy with Sakura and Naruto?"

Naruto and Sakura were quick to come to his defense.

"What are you talking about, Sensei?! Teme got the bell fair and square! You can't send him back to the Academy!"

_Wow, you change your tune quickly, Naruto,_ Kakashi thought, amused.

"He's right, Kakashi-sensei! You can't send Sasuke back!" Sakura turned her head to the Uchiha, "You idiot! Just accept your victory! We'll see each other again in the field! Don't think so lowly of Naruto and me!"

Kakashi inwardly chuckled. _So Sakura doesn't like Sasuke in that way…_

Sasuke rolled his eyes, irritated at his teammates' loudness before shooting a threatening glare at Kakashi. "We _all_ passed."

_And the Uchiha isn't as cold hearted as I thought. Lovely, _Kakashi smiled underneath his mask, _this team may actually have a chance._

"Alright, alright, I've come to a decision," he spoke up, silencing both Sakura and Naruto as they continued to shout at how stupid the Uchiha was being and that Kakashi should ignore him. "You all…are going back to the Academy."

He watched as Sakura and Naruto began to scream; Naruto at him for being unfair, and Sakura at Sasuke for making an idiotic decision. Said Uchiha was visibly paling, the action of what he had done finally registering in his mind.

_This is going to be fun!_

"Just kidding! You all pass!"

"W-what?" Naruto stuttered out, while Sakura and Sasuke stared at him with disbelief.

"Yup!" Kakashi declared happily, "You bunch are officially genins! We will now be known as Team Seven!"

It took a moment for his words to register, but soon, the genins of the newly made Team Seven began to cheer in their own way. Naruto was hollering, jumping around in excitement. Sasuke just stood there with a satisfied smirk on his face, not minding the blonde's yells. Sakura fist pumped to herself with Inner Sakura yelling about how awesome they were in her mind.

A soft breeze swept through the clearing, filled with leaves, and a chorus of voices from plants, stones, and wind alike bled into her head.

_"Congratulations, Sakura-hime_."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Again...sorry about the late update and I appreciate those who decided to stick around. Thank you!  
><strong>


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